Improvement in pin-locks



AUeUs'r HERMANN ANDWAREEN n. TAYLOR,- on srAMEoED, CONNECTIQUE, As-

slenons'ro THE YALE Loon-MANUFACTURING COMPANY, '0E SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 113,295, dated April 4, 1871.

`lll/IPRVEMENT IN PIN-LOCKS.

To whom tt 'may concern:A

Be it known thatwe, AUGUST HERMANN and WAI;- nEN H. TAYLOR, both ofStamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a 'new and useful Method of Constructing Key-Locks;

and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exactdescriptin thereof, reterence being had to the accompanying drawingmaking afpartof this speciiication. l

The object of our invention is to produce a key lockwhich shall beentirely proof against picking; and' rlhe nature of the'invention issuch as to make it applicable 'to many kinds and forms of locks,although in the accompanying drawing it is shown as applied to thewell-known Yale pin-lock.7

In most locks, as at present constructed, security against picking issought by makingintricate wards, by false notchingv the tumblers, bymaking avery close and tine gating, or in some' similar Wayybnt, byskillful and delicate manipulation, -all such locksinay be picked. y

The construction of our lock,-however, is such that while, in theordinary sense ofthe term, it may be as i readily picked 2 as otherlocks, (by which expression we mean that its tnmblers ortheirequivalents may be set upon a gating,) the gating upon which it ispossible to pick it is a false one, Yand does not permit the opening ofthe lock. In ether words, the true gating lis guarded'by theinterposition of` a false one, and the component parts of the lockare-'so arranged that the application of pressure (which -is--thenecessary concomitant of all tentative processes,.of.;,pickii1g) will beresisted by the partsl which co 1stitnteI ithe false gating, and cannotin anyway be applied to those' which constitute the true gating. v

ln the annexed drawing, representing, {i1-st, anad- -justable escntcheon(containing such parts-of the'lock 4as are acted upon by the key) forrim or mortise-latches,

and, second, a drawer-lock complete- Figure l is a front elevatioxrofsaid escutcheon. Figure 2 isa longitudinal section of same on the line AB.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line C D. Figured: is a rearelevation of the plug B. Figure 5 is a side elevation of the same.Figure is a front and side elevation of rings K. 'Figure '7 isa'frontelevation' of a drawer-lock.

VFigure 9' is a naar elevation of same.

v,Similar letters ofrei'erence `indicate corresponding Figure S5 is atransverse section of same on the line The Schedule referred to in theseLettere Patent and making part: of the same.

rlhe construction of th'e Yale pin-look being well known, a briefdescription ot' it here will be suficient. It consists of the shell orcase A, containing a plug,

13, and a series-oi` holes formed partly in the shell and partly in theplug. Each oftheseholes contains two pins and a spring above them,lwhich forces thepins to the bottom of the hole.

rlhe insertionofy the key below these pins raises them, so'that thejoint betwee'n the two pins-contained in each hole exactly coincideswith the joint between the shell and plug, thus permitting the rotationof the latter, andthe unlocking of the lock through the instrumentalityof the cam G.

The picking of a lock thus constructed is accomplished by applying agentle pressure tending to rotate the plug B, thus forcing each of thepins against one side of its hole at the intersection of the shell andilu(r and then feelin(r with a suitable )icking tool, l O7 D1 Q. I

which otl the pins binds7 the most.

By slowly raisingthe pins thus found the rotative pressurc'on the plugwill cause the latter tcslightly `revolve so soon as the pin has beenraised to the point at which the joint between its two parts coincideswith the joint between the shell and plug, and by this slight revolutionof the plug the upper portion of the pin will be held u'p. By nowfeeling ontA the pin which neit binds, it can in like manner be picked,and alter it the next, and so on until all of thc pins have heen'raisedand the plug is free to revolve.

To guard against this method of picking we construct our lock with aseries of loose rings, K K K', enveloping the plug, and interveningbetween it and the shell, and, furthermore, wc cnt in thc plug, on itsupper side, and on each side of the pin-holes, two longitudinalstop-notches, J J, as' shown in iig. Il,

' Each of the rings K l is cut open, at one portion I of itscircumference-tor a distance equal to the diameter of one of the pins EE, and the lock is so put together that the opening thus made isdirectly in line with and over the pin-holes in the plug.

Now, when the truc key is inserted, the pins E E arc raised so that thejoints between them and the plus l" A F are flush' with the outsidesurface-ofthe rings KK, and coincident with the joint between the ringsK l and shell A.

The plug is non' free to revolve by the action of the key D, and in sodoing the pins E E, by reason of their vprojection through the cut-awayportion of the rings maintained, the pin which binds cannot be raisedtol this' joint without catching under the ring. By a skillful locklpickall the pins may thus be raised without great difficulty to the point atwhich -their several joints coincide with the joint between the plug andinside of rings, and the plug revolved. I It will be seen, however, thatthe plug now revolves within the rings, and that the latter remainstationary, so that the pins l F, being forced down by the springs abovethem, pass through the openings in the rings and bear against theperiphery of the plug.

As the plug revolves the pins F F will now follow the outline of itsperiphery, and will enter the stopnotches J J and eifectnally arrest thefurther revolu-l tion of the ping. B, and so prevent the unlocking of'As ordinarilyi constructed these locks have the bottomo` the key-holeinthe plug left open, and we have found that a lock so constructed, evenif provided with the rings K K, may be picked by applying rotativepressure. to the rings, one at a time, by means of a sharp-pointedinstrument passed into the key-hole, and operating on the rings at thebottom thereof.

We therefore construct our lock with a plug, the keyhole.of which' isclosed at the bottom, leaving the plug with the hole formed, as it were,inthe solid metal, thusplacing the rings completelyv beyond reach,

attempts at picking.

Although in the foregoing specification reference has been made only tothe application of onrsaiety principle to the Yale pin-lock, itisevident that it is equally applicable to any'and all locks oi' anysimilar construction, and that, by suitable modifications, it can beapplied to many other forms ot' locks.

Having thus described our invention,

.What we claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a movable part or plug, B, of one or moresafety-rings, K K K. l

2. The movable part or plug B, when constructed with one or moresuitably-formed holes, apertures, projections, or notches J J,substantially in the. manner, as and for the purposes described.

3. rlhe combination of a movable part or plug, B, having a key-holeformed therein, all the sidesf of which are eutirel y closed, save wherethe necessary apertures for the insertion of pins, sliders, or tumblersoccur, and provided with one or more stop-notches, J J, with one or moresafety-rings, K K K.

44:. The'combination of a movable part or plug, B, havingv thereonstopnotches J J, with tulnblers, pins,

greater than the thickness of the key D.

5'.- A safetyu-ing, K, one portion of the circumferor is raised,indented, or expanded, when constructed and used in the manner as andsubstantially'for. the purposes hereinbefore described. 4

AUGUST HERMANN.

W. H. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

' HENRY R. Towns, A. W. RICHARDS.

4and rendering the lock proof against the mostskillinl or sliders E E,any of the dimensions of which are.

ence of which is wholly or in part removed or cut open,

